Hitched hikers

Married couple finishes Saranac Lake 6 in a day

June 18, 2013

SARANAC LAKE - A pair of local residents have become the first married couple to hike the Saranac Lake 6 mountains in less than 24 hours, making them Ultra 6ers. (Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that the Kylers are the first married Ultra 6ers, not the first married 6ers.)

Lee and Kaysie Kyler of Saranac Lake said they started hiking the six local mountains at 4:15 a.m. Saturday. They first climbed Ampersand, then McKenzie, Haystack, Scarface and St. Regis before finishing Saturday night on Mount Baker.

"We 'rang the (6er) bell' (in Berkeley Green) at 10:15 p.m.," Lee Kyler wrote in an email to the Enterprise. "I don't know if the 6'er wave has passed but we're proud of it."

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Kelly Brunette, who works in the village Community Development office and has been keeping the roster of Saranac Lake 6ers, confirmed this morning that the Kylers are the first married couple to hike the peaks in a 24-hour period since the village launched the program on May 25.

"They stopped in yesterday and were really excited," Brunette said. "They're the first married couple, although we had another couple that did complete it that weren't married."

So far, 51 people have become Saranac Lake 6ers, including 18 Ultra 6ers. Kaysie Kyler was number 50, and Lee Kyler was number 51. While the Kylers are the first married Ultra 6ers, at least one other married couple finished the 6 before them. Steven and Dondi Saltsman of Galway were 6ers 13 and 14.

Many successful 6ers are sending the village photos of themselves ringing the bell, and the village has posted the pics on the Saranac Lake 6er Facebook page.

"We get one or two a day that come in and submit their information," Brunette said. "It seems like it's pretty steady."